Vineyard Vines, UCF form ties for charity

Being stylish and donating to charity now go hand-in-hand.

Vineyard Vines clothing company has teamed up with UCF to create a line that is not only designed for students, but will also go to an important cause. All of the proceeds from the Totes and Ties collection will be donated to the American Cancer Society through Relay For Life and Children's Miracle Network through Knight-Thon.

Shep and Ian Murray created Vineyard Vines in 1998 after they left their corporate jobs in New York City in search of the "American Dream." According to the company's website, the brothers wanted to create ties that "represented the finer things and places that life has to offer."

The Totes and Ties collection will feature UCF athletic logos in four different patterns and 14 different colors. Though Vineyard Vines products are normally priced on the higher-end of the spectrum, the company is lowering the prices to make it more affordable for students.

The ties, which usually sell for $75, are now $55. The tote bags, which can cost as much as $150, can be purchased for $75. Also available for purchase are teddy bears wearing either a UCF hoodie or one of the 11 Panhellenic chapters at UCF. These are the most affordable, selling for $10.

All of the proceeds will be donated to charity, one of them being Relay For Life, which is put on by UKnighted for a Cure.

Elliot Citrano, the fundraising chair for UKnighted for a Cure, believes that the partnership with an established company like Vineyard Vines will put UCF in comparison to other schools like the University of Florida.

"Obviously the comparisons with UF are thrown up all the time, and I do definitely believe that within 15 to 20 years we will be one of those top schools," Citrano said. "However, I think that we need a mixture of business and academic partnerships in order to reach that goal."

Brittani DiPaolo, the marketing director for Relay For Life, also believes the partnership with Vineyard Vines to be important because it will give UCF recognition with an established company.

"I'm very excited about it," DiPaolo said. "If you look at the other schools that Vineyard Vines partners with you can see that they're good schools."

Relay For Life is set to take place on April 13-14 at Memory Mall. According to its website, $535 has already been raised, but the goal is $198,000.

Relay For Life isn't the only charity that's benefiting from Totes and Ties. Knight-Thon, UCF's largest student-run philanthropy, will also benefit from the company. Knight-Thon aims at educating, inspiring and uniting the UCF campus to provide support for the Greater Orlando Miracle Network. The organization runs a dance marathon each year to raise money, and the number of students and donations keeps going up. Last year, Knight-Thon had 350 participants and raised $84,000. This year's dance marathon will be held on March 31.

Though Vineyard Vines has been involved on campus before, it has only been with small events. With the closest outlet in Orlando shutting down, students can now only purchase online. Depending on the success of Totes and Ties, which Citrano already believes is doing better then expected, Vineyard Vines could soon be a well-known name on campus.

All purchases must be made by Nov. 1 and will be available for pickup in early December. Orders can be shipped for an additional fee. Students can visit totesandties.com to place their orders.

To get involved with Relay For Life, students can email Thomas Brown at uk4ac.volunteer@gmail.com. To get involved with Knight-Thon students can visit http://www.getinvolveducf.com/knight-thon/.